Today we headed south toward Cai Be in the Mekong Delta. It was another almost 2 hour van transfer to get to our starting point, but once there, it was lovely cycling along various tributaries of the Mekong River (which means Mother River — it is one of the longest in the world). The paths were at times gravel, rough tarmac, and dirt, so i will admit to a sore butt from the bouncing. We shared the “road” with many others, so between the “traffic” and the road conditions concentration was necessary.
We were alongside the river for many of the miles, and the houses in some places were quite large and ornate, while others were basic concrete blocks. Many of the homes have pillars by the front gate, atop which sit either ceramic dogs or lions to scare away any ghosts. And in most every courtyard there are children who yell “hello” repeatedly as each of us pass. Most everyone we encounter smile and wave — they seem to be a beautiful, smiling people — and I can’t help but wonder if any of them have memories of the “American” war or whether it’s simply retreated to the history books and for those of us who still remember.
The Mekong River has many canals and tributaries and we crossed over many of them many times. There were steep narrow bridges in some cases, with and without hand rails, and twice we took a ferry across. It reminded me of the ferry that goes from Edgartown to Chappaquiddick on Martha’s Vineyard — takes about 2 minutes and has to deal with the tide or current so never seems to go straight across.
We paid a visit to a small family run business that makes popped rice and coconut candy, and rice paper and snake wine! Apparently, part of the appeal is the belief that it makes men more virile, and if it’s from a cobra even more so! I’d not known that rice popped like pop corn, at least when wok fried with black sand. And to make rice paper is a slow and painstaking process which was done with great skill as we watched. One thing that is evident from the industries that we’ve learned about is how EVERY bit of waste is somehow re-used or re-cycled. The rice husks, after the rice grain is harvested is used for making fire — and is carried along the river in barges going to market for sale. Alongside the road we saw coconut shells drying in the sun to be used as fuel, and stalks from water hyacinth for weaving baskets. (Given all this use of natural resources I will say that I’m surprised by the amount of rubbish along the paths and in the river; lack of an efficient collection system in the rural areas means that most of it is burned).
Lunch was in a lovely and ornate teak house with tables both inside and out. The first course was a whole fish — called an elephant fish — that we dug into to make rice-paper spring rolls, which we had learned to do the previous night!
Then it was back on the bikes for a final 5 miles, which were difficult, especially after a beer with our lunch. Finally our time in the saddle was done and we had a short boat ride to the Mekong Lodge, a lovely little resort alongside the river. We had to sort through our luggage and just bring a day bag, which we will need to do once more as we will stay in another place on an island in Cambodia. After a swim and a shower dinner was al fresco overlooking the Mekong. While we ate, the staff installed our mosquito nets over each bed, which, given the open air bathroom and the gecko on the wall I was quite happy to have!
Not every day I am mind tweaked into thinking about Heart of Darkness AND Ted Kennedy!
Food descriptions are great – love the pics.